The present invention lies in the field of pyrometallurgy and discloses a process and a slag suitable for the recovery of Ni and Co from Li-ion batteries or their waste. The slag composition is defined according to:

10%<MnO<40%;

(CaO+1.5*Li.sub.2O)/Al.sub.2O.sub.3>0.3;

CaO+0.8*MnO+0.8*Li.sub.2O<60%;

(CaO+2*Li.sub.2O+0.4*MnO)/SiO.sub.2≥2.0;

Li.sub.2≥1%; and,

Al.sub.2O.sub.3+SiO.sub.2+CaO+Li.sub.2O+MnO+FeO+MgO>85%.

This composition is particularly adapted to limit or avoid the corrosion of furnaces lined with magnesia-bearing refractory bricks.

A method of recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery according to an embodiment of the present invention includes preparing a waste cathode active material mixture obtained from a waste cathode of a lithium secondary battery, forming a preliminary precursor mixture by reacting the waste cathode active material mixture with a reactive gas in a fluidized bed reactor, and selectively recovering a lithium precursor from the preliminary precursor mixture. The fluidized bed reactor includes a reactor body and a horizontal expansion bed, and a ratio of a diameter of the horizontal expansion bed relative to a diameter of the reactor body is 3 or more to improve a recovery efficiency of a lithium secondary battery.

The present invention addresses the problem, in methods for producing a metal or alloy by reducing a mixture that contains an oxide ore, of providing an oxide ore smelting method with good productivity and efficiency. The present invention is an oxide ore smelting method for producing a metal or alloy by reducing a mixture that contains an oxide ore, the method comprising at least: a mixing step S1 for mixing an oxide ore with a carbonaceous reducing agent; a mixture-molding step S2 for molding the mixture obtained to obtain a mixture-molded body; and a reducing step S3 for heating the mixture-molded body obtained at a specified reducing temperature in a reducing furnace.

The present invention lies in the field of pyrometallurgy and discloses a process and a slag suitable for the recovery of Ni and Co from Li-ion batteries or their waste. The slag composition is defined according to:
10%<MnO<40%;
(CaO+1.5*Li.sub.2O)/Al.sub.2O.sub.3>0.3;
CaO+0.8*MnO+0.8*Li.sub.2O<60%;
(CaO+2*Li.sub.2O+0.4*MnO)/SiO.sub.2≥2.0;
Li.sub.2≥1%; and,
Al.sub.2O.sub.3+SiO.sub.2+CaO+Li.sub.2O+MnO+FeO+MgO>85%.
This composition is particularly adapted to limit or avoid the corrosion of furnaces lined with magnesia-bearing refractory bricks.

Provided is a smelting method capable of effectively promoting a reduction reaction on pellets formed using nickel oxide ore as starting material to obtain a ferronickel alloy with a high nickel grade of at least 4%. The present invention is a method for smelting nickel oxide ore wherein ferronickel alloy with a nickel grade of at least 4%, the method comprising a pellet-producing step S1 for producing pellets from nickel oxide ore, and a reducing step S2 for reduction-heating of the obtained pellets in a smelting furnace. In the pellet-producing step S1, the pellets are produced by mixing nickel oxide ore with a specified amount of a carbonaceous reducing agent as starting materials. In the reducing step S2, the produced pellets are charged in a smelting furnace in which a carbonaceous reducing agent (furnace bottom carbonaceous reducing agent) has been spread over the entire furnace bottom and reduction-heating is performed.

A plant for recovering metals and/or metal oxides from industrial process waste, in particular oil product refining waste, comprises a furnace; a feed line connected to a main inlet of the furnace and configured to feed the furnace with a solid waste containing metals, in particular in oxide form; an outlet line, connected to a solid phase outlet of the furnace and configured to draw a metal-enriched solid phase out of the furnace; the furnace is a belt conveyor furnace having a belt conveyor closed in a loop with a substantially horizontal configuration and having a top face, which receives the waste to treat and conveys it between two longitudinal opposite ends of the belt conveyor furnace respectively provided with the main inlet and the solid phase outlet.

The present invention lies in the field of pyrometallurgy and discloses a process and a slag suitable for the recovery of Ni and Co from Li-ion batteries or their waste. The slag composition is defined according to:

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This composition is particularly adapted to limit or avoid the corrosion of furnaces lined with magnesia-bearing refractory bricks.

A method is described for recycling nickel from waste battery material. The method includes providing waste battery material comprising a nickel-containing oxide, reducing the nickel in the waste battery material to the zero oxidation state to provide a reduced waste battery material, reacting the reduced waste battery material with carbon monoxide to form Ni(CO).sub.4, and reacting the Ni(CO).sub.4 with a source of sulfate to form NiSO.sub.4. The NiSO.sub.4 product is useful as a nickel feedstock in various processes which require a nickel source, including processes which prepare new battery materials.

Disclosed herein is a method for reducing a metal oxide in a metal containing precursor. The method comprises providing a reaction mixture comprising the metal oxide containing precursorand an aluminium reductant; heating the reaction mixture in the presence of solid or gaseous aluminium chloride to temperature at which reactionsthatresultin the metal oxide being reduced are initiated; controlling reaction conditions whereby the reaction mixture is prevented from reaching a temperature at which thermal runaway can occur; and isolating reaction products that include reduced metal oxide.

The present invention relates to a process for the recovery of transition metals from battery materials comprising (0.1) providing a battery material which comprises oxidic nickel and/or cobalt compounds, (1.1) heating the battery material above 350° C. to yield a reduced material which contains nickel and/or cobalt in elemental form, (2.1) carbonylating the reduced material with carbon monoxide optionally in the presence of a reactive gas to yield a solid carbonylation residue and a volatile carbonyl which comprises nickel and/or cobalt carbonyl containing compounds, and (3.1) separating the volatile carbonyl from the solid carbonylation residue by evaporation.